Business secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed a Chinese company is “no longer involved” in plans for a new nuclear power station, Sizewell C, in Suffolk on the east coast of England.
Shapps made the announcement on Tuesday as he confirmed the government was giving the go-ahead to the £20 billion ($24 billion) project—which the Treasury will invest £700 million ($840 million) in—subject to consultation and planning permission being granted.
France’s EDF Energy, which is building the Hinkley Point C reactor in Somerset, is the majority partner behind Sizewell C, but SNP energy spokesman Alan Brown had asked the business secretary if China General Nuclear would play a part in the project.
Shapps told MPs, “I can confirm to him that China are now bought out of the deal on Sizewell and the money yesterday ensured that they are no longer involved in this particular development.”
The chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Julian Lewis, asked the government to “confirm that we will have no future dependency on China for our nuclear power stations.”
Shapps replied, “I can certainly confirm the case of Sizewell C, as I mentioned earlier, that we are making sure that the Chinese element of that is no longer involved.”
He added, “We don’t have a principled objection apart from where issues of national security are concerned and things like energy provision are very much in our sights.”
Sizewell B was constructed in the late 1980s and is due to be decommissioned in 2035, although its operator EDF Energy said its life could be extended until 2055.
The third nuclear power station in the area will create 10,000 permanent and highly-skilled jobs as well as thousands in construction.
It will also supply “reliable low-carbon power to the equivalent of six million homes for more than 50 years” when it comes online some time in the 2030s.
Shapps said the government would set up a new quango, Great British Nuclear (GBN), which would develop other nuclear projects beyond Sizewell C.
Wylfa in Anglesey, north Wales, and Oldbury in south Gloucestershire have been identified as possible sites for new power stations and GBN will be given the task of identifying other potential sites.
Generally nuclear power stations have to be built beside the sea, or large lakes, because they require vast amounts of water for their cooling processes.
The plant in Suffolk, developed by French energy giant EDF, will be the second of a new generation of nuclear power reactors, after the delayed Hinkley Point C scheme in Somerset which is under construction, but has seen costs climb since it was first given the go-ahead.
EDF’s Chief Executive, Simone Rossi, said Sizewell C would replicate the design at Hinkley Point C, which should ensure it comes in on time and on budget.
He said, “It will deliver another big boost to jobs and skills in the nuclear industry and provide huge new opportunities for communities in Suffolk.”
Shapps said: “Global gas prices are at record highs, caused by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal march on Ukraine. We need more clean, affordable power generated within our borders, British energy for British homes.”
“Today’s historic deal giving government backing to Sizewell C’s development is crucial to this, moving us towards greater energy independence and away from the risks that a reliance on volatile global energy markets for our supply comes with,” he said.
The government also set out plans on Tuesday to reduce Britain’s demand for energy by 15 percent by 2030, with a new £1 billion Eco+ energy efficiency scheme.
It will also go ahead with a public awareness campaign to save energy this winter, something Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss apparently vetoed because she felt it represented a “nanny state” attitude.
“Together with our drive to improve the nation’s energy efficiency, this package will help to permanently bring down energy bills and stop Britain being at the mercy of global gas prices beyond our control,” Hunt said.
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